What does Music look like in our school?
What does it mean to be a Musician at St Mary’s?
At St Mary's we believe that music plays an integral role in supporting children to feel part of a community and we are very passionate in ensuring that each child receives the best musical experience. By delivering high quality musical teaching in line with the National Curriculum requirements, our pupils will be offered a rich and varied musical framework that nurtures fundamental musical techniques alongside building musical knowledge, offering a clear pathway towards mature musical understanding.
All pupils at St Mary’s have statutory music lessons provided by the Suffolk County Council Music Scheme, delivered by specialist teachers. Pupils in KS1 learn over two years to play glockenspiel, in Y3-Y4 pupils learn to play Recorders, and in Y5 and Y6 pupils play ukulele. Pupils learn how to read notations and they practice this through different instruments over time. Further to that, the class teachers use Charranga resources to support singing creative arts. It also positively impacts pupils mood, and children who study music can enjoy increased self-esteem. It's a way of learning about history as well as different cultures and traditions around the world in a practical and enjoyable way.
Regardless of children’s musical background, pupils at St Mary’s are encouraged to enjoy music in their own way- either as a listener, creator or performer. The non-statutory Model Music Curriculum expands on the knowledge offered from the National Curriculum, ensuring children develop a deeper understanding of the history of music which will be “explored in a variety of ways, placing music in artistic, historical, social and political contexts, and building meaningful and memorable connections”. (Model Music Curriculum, 2021).
| Our Curriculum and High Quality Resources | |
| EYFS | EYFS framework is structured very differently from the national curriculum for key stage one and key stage two. At EYFS, teaching is organised across seven areas of learning, rather than subject areas. This means that learning related to music is spread across several areas of learning, rather than just one. The most relevant Development Matters music statements can be found in the following 3 areas of learning from the EYFS Statutory Framework:
· Communication and Language · Physical Development · Expressive Arts and Design Music is important in the Early Years Foundation Stage as it helps children's development in several areas. Singing songs and rhymes together is a great way to develop their communication and language skills in a fun and engaging way. Singing and dancing also helps children express their feelings and ideas, and share them with others, which reinforces positive relationships with adults and other children. Music activities are great for helping build children's confidence, encouraging them to interact with each other, and helping them learn to participate in group activities. Music is also excellent for their physical development. They learn to move in a range of new ways as they dance in time with the music, or play musical instruments to a tune. |
| KS1 | At St Mary’s students are taught to:
· use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes · play tuned and untuned instruments musically · listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music · experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
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| KS2 | · At St Mary’s children are taught to:
· Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression; · Improves and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music; · Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory; · Use and understand staff and other musical notations; · Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians; · Develop an understanding of the history of music. |
At St Mary’s we are STARS:
SAFE- We learn to use musical instruments safely and use our bodies in a creative yet safe manner when dancing to the music.
TRY- We are confident to try new ideas as we know that mistakes can be key to new discoveries.
ASPIRE- We learn about different inspirational musicians over different historical times and genres.
RESPECT- We respect the role of Musicians in our society and view them as essential in developing creative thinking and how music can influence welbeing of everyone around.
Feedback and Assessment
Children receive precise and positive verbal feedback regarding their skills and next steps when appropriate.
| Assessment and Tracking Progress | |
| EYFS | In EYFS we use the Development Matters Framework to assess children every term to inform their next steps. |
| KS1 and KS2 | In KS1 and KS2 we assess children after every topic to see who is working towards and working at the national expected level and greater depth. Children who are not meeting age related expectation are further supported by class teachers or music tutors and encourage the progress of pupils. We use this formative assessment to inform the next steps for children with a particular focus on SEND and disadvantaged pupils. This information is passed on to the next teacher to ensure progression across the year groups. |
Provision for those children who need additional support
Music at St Mary’s is inclusive and all children are given the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of Music. Aside from being a key creative subject, teaching music allows all pupils, regardless of their background and skills to enjoy and participate in music lessons and ultimately reach their full potential.
For children who do need additional support, teachers scaffold their lessons to help all children to access the learning objective. This includes the pre-teaching of vocabulary, use of additional adults, 1:1 support.
Year 5 have enjoyed learning to play the guitar this year with Mr Murphy who is a professional musician.
